There has been a considerable amount of debate on how to measure poverty. To review and take a fresh look at the methodology for measurements of poverty, the Government of India appointed an Expert Group (Rangarajan Committee) in June 2012. This book contains the Report of the Expert Group and four other articles which were written subsequently to explain some of the issues that were raised after the publication of the Report. The four papers of the book discusses various issues on poverty measurement including comparison of Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) data, estimates of poverty using different cut-off points and the impact of public expenditure on health and education on poverty.
S. Mahendra Dev has been the Director and Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) in Mumbai, since 2010. Prior to this position, he was Chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, Ministry of Agriculture from 2008 to 2010. C. Rangarajan is a leading economist of India who has played a key role both as an academic and a policy maker.